


Together

by urlsarentmything



Category: The Old Guard (Comics), The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Far Future, Inspirational Speeches, M/M, andy and quynh are dead, of sorts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26451238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/urlsarentmything/pseuds/urlsarentmything
Summary: Joe and Nicky go out together.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 4
Kudos: 62





	Together

**Author's Note:**

> Me: I really hate Major character death.  
> Me:  
> Me: Let me write major character death

Nicky was cutting vegetables for launch when his knife slipped and he cut his finger. He turned around to get something to wipe the blood when he realized that he didn't feel the skin healing. He wiped slowly, but his finger kept bleeding. After a few minutes it stopped but he could still clearly see the cut. 

Nicky heavily leaned on the kitchen counter, his vision blurring. He was overcome with emotion. He felt relieved that he won't have to watch Yusuf die. Regret for ever thinking that. Sadness that he'll leave his love, that Joe will have to experience the grief of losing him. Calm, the way he hasn't felt before. It was his time. 

Nicky knew that he had to tell Joe. He didn't know how to. Couldn't find words in any language he knew . He could imagine the look on his face, the pain. He didn't know if he could do that to the man he had loved for millenia. 

He decided to wait. He continued cooking and him and Nile served it. She and Booker were discussing the next day's mission, Tala occasionally butting in. She was the youngest, a Filipino woman that looked about 40. She was barely a century old, a child compared to them. 

Nicky's face must've betrayed something because Joe grabbed his hand underneath the table, silently asking what's wrong. Nicky shook his head and smiled.  _ Later _ , it meant. 

After lunch Joe and Nile went to spar in the yard. Nicky didn't follow, couldn't allow himself to betray anything else before he was ready. He sat on the couch, his eyes turned toward the television. He was lost in his thoughts.

He wondered if Andy felt this way, dying on a battlefield years after losing her immortality while Quynh's screams surrounded her. If Quynh was happy dying just decades after her wife. If Booker would be able to help Joe after he was gone or if he would drown with him. If Nile would be able to get them together again or if she would lose her hope the way Andy had. 

The sound of the door opening brought him back. Joe was smiling, but it was forced. He limped slightly, barely noticeable to anyone but Nicky. A part of him didn't want to hope, it could be a bad injury, he was healing slowly. But Nicky  _ knew _ . 

He took Joe's hand and dragged him into their room. 

Yusuf had tears in his eyes. 'I am so sorry, love. I will do everything in my power to stay with you for as long as I can.' 

Nicky showed him his finger. Joe looked at him for a few moments before bursting out laughing. Nicky laughed with him. They held onto each other as they laughed, tears rolling down their checks. 

'Oh, thank whatever Gods there are. We're going out together, Nicky.'

They were speaking in Genoese, the language they spoke in when they first met.

'We are.' Nicky looked at him with serious eyes. It was a promise. 

~

They tell the others over dinner. 

Booker cries, and then he laughs. 

'It's your destiny, isn't it?' 

'Yes. Destiny brought us together. I believe She is taking us together.' 

Booker turned away a bit, trying to wipe his eyes. Nicky could imagine the pain he was feeling, knowing that he will be the oldest soon. He prayed that the man will be able to grieve and move on, the way he has only recently learned to. 

'What will you do now?' Tala was scared. This would be the first death of an immortal she witnessed, a painful reminder of their mortality. 

'We fight tomorrow. And if we live we fight again. There is no other path for us.' Yusuf said. 

Nile looked up. She wasn't trying to hide her tears. 'And we'll be by your side. I'm happy that you're staying with us.' 

She stood up and rounded the table. She pulled them both into a hug and soon they were all piled up in a group hug. 

~

They're in Eastern Europe in the middle of a messy civil war. Their mission is to rescue the hostages. Kids and women. They're going against an army. 

They get ready for the mission the same way they always do. Weapons - guns and swords, blueprints and hacked reports, medical supplies. Before they head out Nicky and Joe ask for a minute. 

Joe starts. 'Tala, there's nothing I can say that will prepare you for what will come soon. But I will ask you to continue to fight for what you believe in. What we do seems like a drop in the ocean sometimes, but every life you save, every person you help, it makes a difference. Never lose sight of that.'

Nicky continues.'You're strong and bright and kind in a way we haven't been in centuries. Let the pain wash over you but try not to lose yourself. It's okay to lean on these old bastards here. We love you.'

She's crying. 'Thank you.' 

Nicky turns towards their leader. 'Nile, you're an exceptional leader. Your strength and love for the world still amaze me. You've honored Andy's memory. I'm so proud of who you've become. I know that you'll continue finding hope in this world.' 

Joe's smile is getting watery. 'I'm happy to have served under your command, Nile. Your decisions never led us astray. Your strength is admirable but I hope you know that you're allowed to be weak too. Being a leader doesn't make you any less of our sister, habibi. Never forget that.'

'I won't. Thank you both. But you better not die today. Andy had decades' 

'We'll try.' 

Joe looks Booker in the eyes. 'Brother, I am so proud of how far you've come. I forgive you for everything you may blame yourself for. I hope you don't forget how to live again. I know it's easy to get caught up in what you've lost but you can't forget those that are still next to you.'

'Sébastien, I know this will hurt you. There's no way for me to stop that hurt, but I hope you'll be able to let go of it. Don't hurry towards death. Not again. You're loved, brother and you can't ever forget that.' 

'I.. I'll do my best. We should go.' 

~

There's an ambush. They go down fighting. 

They're surrounded with dead bodies as they bleed out, holding hands. They spend their last breaths softly kissing. They don't hear explosions in the background. They feel each other's heartbeats fade. 

They go out together. 

~ 

They scatter their ashes in Malta. 

Together. 


End file.
